Montana hunter accuses world-renowned guide of fraud

Reno, Nev. • A big-game hunter from Montana is accusing a Canadian outfitter and a world-renowned guide in Tajikistan of fraudulently turning his dream of bagging a rare argali sheep known as the "Marco Polo" into a living nightmare.

Rick Vukasin (vuh-KAH'-sihn) says in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Reno last week that he spent more than $50,000 pursuing the once-in-a-lifetime adventure in Tajikistan near China's border in December 2012.

The 65-year-old electrician says he was lucky to land a 400-pound ram with the coveted, spiraling horns.

He was mortified two months later when he opened up the box shipped to his home in Great Falls to find the horns were not those of his trophy animal.